In Myanmar, five new corruption charges have been filed against ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, a source with knowledge of the case. Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
The charges relate to buying and renting a helicopter, allegedly misusing government funds. The source wishes to remain anonymous because he cannot comment on this. However, limited information is released from Myanmar about the lawsuits against former politicians.
The former head of government and the ex-president were detained by military personnel on February 1, 2020, after the army staged a coup d’état. Since then, several changes have been brought against the politicians, and they have also been sentenced to prison terms. Nobel Prize winner Suu Kyi (76) has been jailed for six years.
The military coup took place because, according to the army, electoral fraud had been committed, for which no evidence has been provided to date. Suu Kyi’s party managed to gain even more seats in the 2020 elections. As a result, the army saw its power shrink further. It was Myanmar’s second free democratic election after 50 years of military dictatorship.